ould come in graduated order all
sorts of men with a decidedly large number standing about five feet six
or eight inches. This latter height we call the average.

Practically we see the significance of these differences. No
manufacturer thinks of making one size of overall in the hope that it
will fit each of these men. He adapts his garment to their size, and he
knows approximately how many of each size will be called for in the
course of ordinary business.

If these same men could be taken one by one into a music studio and have
their voices tested for range, the same interesting variations would be
found. There would be a few very high tenors, a few exceptionally low
bassos, and a crowd with medium range with fillers-in all along the
line.

If we were interested in carrying the experiment still further we might
apply the speed test. In a 100-yard dash a few men would be found to be
particularly fast, a few others would trail away behind at a snail's
pace, while the big crowd of men would make the distance in "average
time."

Of course, it would be foolish to attempt to make tenors of all these
men--equally foolish to try to make speeders of them all. In these
practical matters we appreciate the wisdom of letting each man fit into
that niche for which he is qualified.

Nor are these differences confined to the field of physical
characteristics and achievements. Tests by the hundred have demonstrated
beyond all question that they hold equally well of mental capabilities.
In the past children have gone to school at the age of six. They have
remained there because they were six. At seven they were in grade two,
and so on up through the grades of our public schools. Tests and
measurements now, however, are showing that such a procedure works both
a hardship and an injustice on the pupils. Some boys at six are found as
capable of doing work in grade two as other boys at eight. Some boys and
girls at six are found wholly incapable of doing what is required in
grade one. One of the most promising prospects ahead educationally is
that we shall be able to find out just the capacity of a child
regardless of his age, and fit him into what he can do well, making
provisions for his passing on as he shows capability for higher work.
Not only has this matter of individual differences been found to apply
generally in the various grades of our schools--it has been found to
have significant bearing upon achievements in particular